Tilak, Nitish steer India to 2-0 lead over New Zealand in 2nd T20I
India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the second T20I to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy added an unbroken 69 for the seventh wicket to finish the chase with one ball to spare.
The stand is now India’s highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20Is. It went past the 63 put on by Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya against New Zealand in 2019.
The details
New Zealand made 180/5 after being 41/3 in the powerplay. Glenn Phillips scored 70 and Bevon Jacobs 58, while Mitchell Santner took 4/21.
India’s reply began at 40/0 but slipped to 112/6 in 14.5 overs, with Santner’s wickets doing the damage in the middle overs. Naman Dhir’s 31 off 17 balls revived India’s hopes.
Tilak finished on 51 not out off 26 balls, with six fours and a six. One report puts his fifty at 25 balls. Reddy made 26 not out off 13 balls, including a four and a six. India needed 11 from the last over and won off the penultimate ball, finishing on 181/6 in 19.5 overs.
Reddy also bowled three overs and took one wicket for 31 runs.
Series so far
India also won the first T20I on 22 October by four wickets. New Zealand made 225/4 in that game and India finished on 230/6 in 19.4 overs.
Both matches in the New Zealand vs India T20I Series 2026 have therefore gone to India by the same margin of four wickets. The series runs from 22 October to 1 November.
What’s next
The series moves to Wellington for the third T20I on Tuesday, 27 October, starting at 12:30 PM IST. The fourth match is on Friday, 30 October and the fifth on Sunday, 1 November, both at 12:30 PM IST.
Three matches remain in the series.
